A New Dawn, A New Day
by DeanBean
Summary: AU. This is the sequel to, Another Dawn, Another Day, and it is a Luka Kovac fic.
1. Welcome Back Dr Kovac

Long time no see :D, this is the sequel to my first fan fiction, "Another Dawn, Another Day" and it starts when Luka is being discharged from the rehab clinic in Atlanta, and it will then continue from there, the trials and tribulations that he faces when he returns to work at Cook County General.

Disclaimer: I still don't own ER, but I have it out on loan for the duration of the fic.

**Chapter 1 - "Welcome back Dr. Kovac"**

The sound of footsteps could be heard resounding off the wooden-lined walls of the clinic. The sounds of scribbling pens; admitting and discharging forms both are filled put, some where only starting their journey and others were almost complete. Luka Kovac walked down the hall like he had done that day two months ago, the only difference this time was that he was walking in the opposite direction, making a huge step in _his_ journey for recovery. He had put on a few pounds since he had first came to stay at the clinic but he was still very thin, his skin still pale yet he did not seem as depressed as he had done that day two months ago. He only had one bag with him containing only a few changes of clothes and the other necessities that he required during his stay; he was dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans, a black long sleeved shirt and a black jacket. He walked up to the desk and was handed a discharge form from Linda the head nurse at the clinic who showed the patients were to go when they arrived, just like she had done with him. Luka walked over to the chairs opposite the small window that hid the nurses' office from everyone. Luka pulled the pen off the top of the clipboard and started to fill in the form. His hand was shaking slightly from nerves; but excited ones at that. He was glad to be leaving the clinic, he hated the way he had to share his _emotions_ in front of complete strangers and have to endure there pitying glares. Of course during these little meeting Luka never did really express his true feeling, knowing that no one would understand; and he certainly did not mention anything about his family, he knew he would be able to withstand the pity and fake 'sorry's that he would receive, and that was one of the reason's he did not tell anyone back at County, apart from the few such as Carter, Greene, Benton and Weaver. He had sat through the group therapy and the individual therapy, answering the questions and telling them exactly what they wanted to here so he could get out of this place; he had obviously succeeded he thought as he signed the bottom of the form and placed the pen back in its' holder at the top of the clipboard. He walked over to Linda and placed the clipboard back down and she took it off him with a smile. He pulled his bag onto his shoulder and walked towards the two oak doors that had confined him and his soul for the past two months. He pulled them open and walked out without a look back at another part of his life that he would rather forget, yet he knew that there would always be things everywhere to remind him of yet another mistake that he made.

Luka had got a cab from the clinic to the airport where he would board the 12:00 O'clock plane back to Chicago where either Greene or Benton would be there to pick him up. He was in the waiting room of the airport and had a few hours to wait for the plane so he decided that he would get himself a cup of coffee to keep him awake and warm himself up; Atlanta was very cold as it was winter and Luka only had a light jacket with him and it was not doing very much to keep the howling wind out form his tired and shivering frame. He paid for the cup of coffee and held it between his hands to warm them up while he walked back over to his seat. A while later a woman with a squeaky voice announced over the intercom that his plane was boarding and that passengers would go to gate 7. Luka walked over and handed the woman behind the desk his ticket and passport and when she handed them back and he thanked her then boarded the plane. He walked over to his seat and after putting his bag in the overhead compartment he sat down at the window seat and closed his eyes for a few moments while drawing in a few breaths, suddenly apprehensive of what the people back at County would think of him when he got back, would they treat him any different. He let out the breath slowly and opened his eyes to see that a rather large man who was wearing a rather expensive suit and many gold rings decorating his chubby hand sat down beside him; the strong smell of smoke and aftershave making Luka gag; he didn't have breakfast this morning apart from the cup of coffee in the waiting room as he was a little nervous and didn't trust himself not to be sick so he had just got a shot of compasine before he left the clinic yet the smell from the man was enough to overpower that and unsettle his stomach. The loud man settled into the airplane seat beside Luka and after a few minutes of twisting and turning so that he was in a comfortable position turned to Luka,

"So, are you from Atlanta or Chicago?" the man said and looked at Luka expectedly,

"Chicago" Luka said hoping that if he kept his answers short that maybe he could get a little rest before they got there,

"I'm from Atlanta, going on business. And from your accent I'm guessing your not actually ifrom/i Chicago" the man said and let out a thunderous laugh as if it was so funny that Luka had an accent. Luka just nodded his head slightly hoping that the man would get his point and stop bothering him,

"So where are you from? Now let me guess, Russia?" the man said as if this was a game. Luka just shook his head and wished that he hadn't as he could feel the start of a headache coming on,

"Neither. Croatia" Luka said and earned himself a funny look from the man,

"That's where that war was. Lots of people got killed, I sure am glad that I didn't live there" and shook his head from side to side slightly as if he could possibly imagine what Luka, or anyone that had lived through such a war had been through,

"Anyway it was nice to meet you, don't mind me or anything but I am gonna try and catch a little shut eye before I get to my big meeting" and then he pushed his chair back and closed his eyes not caring about the possible crushed legs of the young woman that was sitting behind him. Despite this Luka was glad that the man was going to sleep so that he could get some piece and quiet himself; he wasn't going to go to sleep though, he didn't trust that the nightmares would stay at bay long enough, even in the clinic they hadn't, in fact he could have swore they had gotton worse, but none of the nurses knew what they were about, the first few nights when he had a nurse staying outside him room they had just suspected it was from coming off of the drugs, and didn't question him, and he was completely fine with that.

When the plane landed Luka could not have been more glad nor nervous; one of those bittersweet moments, glad to get away from that awful clinic and that annoying man, yet nervous about what lay ahead for him, his whole future depending on these next few days. Luka walked out into the waiting area of the airport and looked around for a moment before he spotted Mark Greene standing near the doors looking around; Luka let out the breath that he did not realise he had been holding and walked over to where Greene was standing, and when he was halfway there Greene spotted him and waved over, a small smile forming on his lips. When Luka reached him Greene pulled him into a hug before pulling back and coughing slightly to cover the fact that he was slightly embarrassed,

"Sorry, it's just good to see you Luka; you look so much better than when we last saw you. It's good to have you back" Greene said the smile increasing on his lips. They walked out to the car only talking about trivial things, and how the ER had changed since he had last been there, not that it had changed much. When they got into Greene van Luka asked the question that had been annoying him for quite a while now,

"Do they know why I left…people at work I mean?" Luka asked while looking at Greene, the worry clearly evident in his dark blue eyes.

"No. When people started asking where you had gone and why Weaver took care of them, told them it was a family matter and wasn't sure when you would be back" and Greene gave Luka's shoulder a comforting squeeze after saying this, noticing that the worry decreased by a fraction. They had to go to County first and they would decide there what would be done about Luka and his career in the hospital. Luka was anxious but he also knew that there was nothing that he could do about the outcome in the end so he decided that he would just enjoy the 'scenery' of the Chicago rain creating patterns along the window. By the time they made it to County Luka was exhausted from not having had that much sleep, the past few days especially. Greene parked in the hospital parking spaces and got out of the car followed by Luka. They walked along the corridor to the conference room and Luka felt self-conscience. He hated it when he was the centre of attention; sure it was fine when it was a trauma or something like that but anything other than that he hated. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark denim jeans to hide the fact that they were shaking slightly. He was waiting outside the room with Greene waiting for Kerry and Benton to come, and wasn't sure if he was glad when he saw them approaching him from down the corridor, wishing that this whole ordeal would just be over. Kerry walked over to him and gave his arm a squeeze and smiled up at him before walking into the room with him following after like an obedient puppy following his master. When he walked in he sat down in the chair indicated; it was facing the four chairs that Kerry, Greene and Benton would be sitting in and was wondering who the fourth was for when Robert Romano came into the office and Luka wished that the earth would somehow open up and swallow him.

"So, our foreign friend is back from his little vacation in the Atlanta rehab clinic I see" Romano said with the smirk plastered onto his smug little face.

"Robert, there is no need for that, lets just get this thing sorted out" Kerry said trying to keep his voice calm while speaking to the annoying little man.

"Shot," Romano said and reclined back into his chair, "and make this snappy, I have surgery after this and I ido not/i intend on being late"

"Luka, as you know the hospital has a very serious policy on abusing narcotics and other grade II drugs…." And Kerry started to tell Luka about how the situation should be handled. Luka listened but was finding it hard due to his lack of sleep yet was woken up when Greene started to speak,

"These are the conditions that you will have to abide by until further notice.

1.No administering Grade II drugs unless you are under the supervision of any of the panel here.

2.You will not be taking on any trauma cases, only minor cases for the first week.

3.And finally; you will have to take these everyday, and have random blood and urine tests."

Kerry pushed a form across the table with a pen on the top ready for Luka to sign, and he picked up the pen and hesitated for a moment before signing the space at the bottom of the contract and let out the breath he did not realise he had been holding, and pushed the form back to Kerry, now nervously awaiting what was going to be said next,

"Well Kovac, looks like I'll be seeing you around yet. Hopefully for a patient consult and not this again thank you very much" and Romano pushed his chair away from the desk and swiftly left the room. Luka stood up also along with Benton, Greene and Weaver and shook hands with each of them,

"We can start you back as soon as you want, or you can have another few days off if you would like?" Kerry said,

"I would rather start as soon as I can, I'm a few payments back on my rent and need the money" Luka said trying to convince Kerry to let him start as soon as he could,

"Okay. We can start you tomorrow, 8:00am to 8:00pm, and I will give you the rest of your rota tomorrow." Kerry said with a smile on her face, glad that things seemed to be looking up for Luka. Benton walked over to Luka and shook his hand again with a small smirk on his face,

"Welcome back Dr. Kovac".


	2. First Day Back

Chapter 2 - "First Day Back"

Luka woke up with a start, the nightmares still invading his sleep. He red the flashing red numbers off the clock that was on his beside table and groaned when he saw that it was only 4:00am in the morning. Yesterday after Luka had left the hospital he had went back to the hotel and the receptionist had been shocked to see him there; she had questioned him as to why he had been gone so long but he just brushed over the question and asked could he see the manager. The manager had been a little angry at Luka for just upping and leaving but told Luka that he had left his room as it had been and that he was welcome to stay again as long as he repaid the rent for which he had missed in his absence. Luka pulled the covers off of his body and threw his legs over the side of the bed, gasping as the cold floor made contact with the soles of his feet. He stretched his arms above his head before standing up for the warm confines of the bed and walking over to the bathroom. He walked inside and quickly brushed his teeth, and mouth-washed before walking over to the shower and turning on the water, and getting in straight away letting the cold water wake up his drowsy body before washing and getting out and wrapping a towel around his waist and drying off his raven black hair with another. Luka walked back into the main room and sat down on the side of his bed; he reached over to the bedside table and lifted up the vile of pills that he had been given yesterday by Weaver and popped the cap off before shaking one out onto his hand and replacing the cap. He walked back into the bathroom and filled a glass with water; he looked into the water for a moment and watched as it swirled around in the glass before settling, and let out a sigh before placing the tablet on his tongue and washing it away with the water. He placed the glass back down on the sink and walked back into the room and over to his drawers where he pulled out a pair of black jeans, a white tee along with a dark blue jumper. He quickly pulled on his clothes and shoes before quickly fixing his hair; gelling it but the fringe still fell in front of his eyes. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was now 5:00am so he decided that he would walk to County to give his head time to clear from the many thoughts that were swirling around, and he knew that it would be impossible to do that with the racket of the EL train.

When Luka made it to County it was 7:00am and he still had an hour to go before his shift. He decided that he would grab a cup of coffee to help wake him up, and to help warm him up from Doc Magoo's because he knew if he went into work now he would have to face the inevitable questions that he would be asked; and he wanted to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. He walked in and was greeted by the burst of warmth that was the complete opposite of the cold and dank of outside. He walked over to the counter and ordered his coffee while sitting down. While he was waiting he felt someone tap his shoulder and when he turned around he was greeted by the faces of John Carter and Abby Lockhart,

"Hey man, when did you get back?" Carter said as he and Abby took seats beside Luka,

"Yesterday afternoon. So how have things been?" Luka asked when his coffee was brought over and he nestled it in his cold hands trying to warm them up,

"Fine, just the usual really. So how did it go, you know?" Carter said trying to ask the question without actually mentioning the rehab clinic, and also getting a look from Abby for his forwardness,

"Okay, the first couple of days were tough but good, I feel better" Luka said and Carter gave Luka's shoulder a comforting squeeze. Abby gave him a big smile and said,

"You look better too" and Luka knew she was just being kind; he still had a lot of work to do to get to the way he was before but just gave her a small smile. He quickly glanced at his watch and noticed the time and stood up from his seat not wanting to be late on his first day back,

"Well, don't wanna be late on the first day back so I best be off. Are you's starting or finishing?" Luka asked as Abby and Carter got up from their seats also,

"Starting" they both said at the same time causing all three of them to smile, "we can walk over together, make it that bit more bearable for you Luka" Abby said knowing that everyone was going to be asking him lots of questions on his whereabouts for the past two months; they had been asking her, Carter, Kerry, Mark and just about everyone since the first day he didn't turn up for his shift.

They walked in through the ambulance bay doors and Luka got a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, and also the one that he felt as though he never left. He quickly walked into the lounge and was glad that no one had seen him; and that was saying something for a 6ft 4" man with raven black hair. He quickly pulled off his coat and placed it inside his locker before pulling out his lab coat and stethoscope and placing it around his neck. He took a deep breath to calm himself before smiling nervously at Carter and Abby and opening the door. He walked over to the admit desk and could feel several pairs of eyes on him, and winced when he heard Franks booming voice resound in his ears,

"So Kovac, where you been? Get lost in the Bermuda triangle or something, cause you sure been gone a long time" he said and Luka got glanced at him before lifted up a chart at random and replying on the way past Frank, "Good to see you too Frank" and smiled again when he heard Frank muttering something under his breath.

Luka walked over to curtain area 2 where his first patient, Maria Dodd, a 23 year old woman with a sore throat and running nose sat. Luka pulled back the curtain and saw that Maria was sitting with several tissues surrounding her on the bed,

"Hello Maria I'm Dr Kovac. Now I see you seem to be complaining about a sore throat and a running nose?" while Luka sat down on the metal stool in front of her.

Fifteen minutes later Luka was finished with Maria and was signing off her chart when he heard the ambulance bay doors swing open and Doris call for a doctor. Luka quickly ran over and fell into step beside the gurney that was carrying a 58 year old man who was suffering from a probable MI, and was currently in asystole, the paramedics had been shocking him for 45 minutes but the family, who were standing outside trauma room 1's doors, had insisted that he be brought to the hospital and now here they were giving futile attempts to bring back the man, Jacob Fisher. The team tried in vain for 20 minutes to bring Mr. Fisher back but to no avail,

"That's it, he was gone before they brought him here, and he never even had a chance. Time of death; 8:43. I'll go and speak to the family" Luka said as he pulled of his gloves and threw them on the floor among the other rubbish that was collected during a trauma. Luka pushed the door open and walked over to the chairs where the Fisher's were waiting for news; they stood up when they saw Luka approaching. An old woman with grey hair and big glasses was the first to start asking questions,

"Is my husband okay, can we go and see him now?" she said and Luka got let out a small sigh of sadness,

"Mrs. Fisher when your husband came in he had suffered a massive heart attack, we exhausted all of medicines but despite this we couldn't get his heart beating again. I'm very sorry mam' but your husband died" Luka said and saw that the woman started to cry even harder, the young man with her started to cry also, most likely her son.

"I can take you to see him if you would like?" and the woman nodded slightly before her and her son followed Luka down the corridor towards trauma one. Luka pushed open the door and held it while the Fisher's entered. They walked to the head of the bed and Mrs. Fisher turned to Luka, "Did he suffer?" she asked while stroking the side of her husbands face,

"It probably happened suddenly so, no I don't think he would have suffered," Luka took a deep breath before speaking again, "Someone will be up to take him to the morgue soon, unless you have a funeral home?" and the woman just shook her head and Luka left the room so that the Fisher's could grieve in peace.

A few hours later Luka was standing at the admit desk signing off on a chart when someone came up and stood beside him,

"So, where did you disappear to for two months?" Frank asked, and suddenly Chuny and Haleah were walking towards were Luka stood, "Yeah Dr. Kovac, where were you?" Halaeh asked, the temptation of a bit of gossip getting the best of her,

"No where. I have patients to see" Luka said as he walked off and choose to ignore the muttering of him being a 'freakin' foreigner' from Frank and just headed in the direction of curtain area 5. Fifteen minutes later and Luka was signing off on his patient after prescribing Tylenol and anti-biotics for the fever and the throat infection. Luka was glad that his first day back seemed to be going well; to major cases or many traumas, but the constant asking of where he had been and why was beginning to get to him, he didn't know how long his was going to be able to dodge the questions with the same excuses of needing to go and help a patient, or that he had to go to get a suture kit. He walked over to the lounge and walked inside wanting to get some peace for a few moments. He walked in and sat down on the sofa, resting his head on the back and closing his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before opening his eyes again when he heard the door open, and saw that it was Susan, she smiled warmly at him before walking over to the coffee machine. Luka got up off the sofa and said goodbye to Susan before walking out of the lounge and was surprised when he saw Kerry Weaver standing over at admit; he didn't want to bump into her and get asked questions about how his day was going so he quickly walked down the corridor and didn't even realize that he feet were taking him in the direction of the drug lock-up. When he walked in he got the overwhelming urge to just take a little bit of Valium or something to numb his mind from the questions that he was constantly being asked, and the tiredness that was overtaking his body; more mental exhaustion than physical even though he was still very gaunt. He quickly walked out of the lock-up and over to the admit and grabbed a chart and while quickly scanning it he walked in the direction of exam 3.

A few more hours later and Luka was finishing up on a patient when he heard Mark Greene call his name. He turned in the direction of Greene and walked over to him after quickly signing his chart and setting it down,

"So Luka how was the first day?" Mark said as he walked down the corridor to the suture room, Luka following after him,

"It was okay. The constant questioning of where I was, but other than that it was good. Did you need to speak to me about something?" Luka said and Greene just nodded his head,

"Yes; remember we said that one of the conditions was random blood or urine tests, well," Greene said while he held up a syringe, "you did remember to take your tablets today right?" Mark said as he signaled for Luka to sit down on the gurney. Luka pulled off his lab-coat and pulled up his sleeve, and didn't even realize until he saw the pitying look on Marks face that it was the arm that was revealing the constant reminder of the past he would rather forget; several track marks on his arm, yet some of the older ones had started to heal. Mark just gave him a small smile to show him that it didn't matter, as long as he was getting help now,

"Okay Luka, you know the drill. You don't need a 'friendly hug' do you?" Mark said causing them both to laugh slightly as he referred to the way they would 'hug' children who were afraid of needles in order to give them an injection or take blood. Mark quickly wiped the area that he would be putting the needle into with an alcohol wipe and tied a tourniquet around Luka's arm and quickly pushed the needle into the vein and a few minutes later pulled it back out when the syringe had been filled with the crimson liquid. Luka pulled the tourniquet off and Mark quickly put a small bad-aid of the spot before Luka pushed the sleeve of his jumper back down. He got up and he lifted his lab-coat and just held it in his hands; he was going home now anyway so there was no point it putting it back on just to take it off. Luka stepped forward and suddenly felt a little dizzy but he felt Mark grab his arm and steady him,

"Do you wanna stick around while I get the results?" Mark asked and Luka just smiled at him,

"No thanks. Besides I know that they'll come back negative anyway" and Greene just smiled at him. They both headed in different directions, Luka towards the lounge and Greene to go and get the blood tested. Luka quickly clocked out and then walked into the lounge where he meet Carter,

"Hey, so how was the first day back?" he said before taking a sip out of his coffee,

"It was fine. I'll see you tomorrow then" Luka said as he put his things in his locker and left the lounge.

Please R&R, cause I don't know if I should continue if no one likes it…


End file.
